“The reaction has begun.”
I’m just going to put this out there from the start: I haven’t recovered from the episode yet, so writing this has been difficult, much moreso than usual. My thoughts aren’t totally settled. That episode could induce post-traumatic stress, yo! How sad is it that I really wish I wasn’t single right now just so I could have someone to hold me after these epic, soul-crushing, dream-shattering, gut-wrenching, awe-inspiring final episodes? I’m kind of not okay still.
This episode was the most exquisite hour ever spent on a plummeting descent into the abyss of Hell. I was so calm after the end of “To’hajiilee,” but after “Ozymandias,” I couldn’t sleep again, all wired up and amped, wanting to stress eat or curl into the fetal position and feeling somewhat traumatized by what I’d just watched, but in the best possible way. With Breaking Bad, you get tortured in such a wonderful way you wouldn’t give it up for anything. That’s sure something. With every episode, even as it all crashes and burns, I’m even more glad that they’re taking this story to its awful conclusion.
No one on this show was having an A1 Day, except, perhaps, the writer (literally). What each character dreaded most came to pass. They pleaded to no avail, crumpled, collapsed, fell to their knees. Everybody cried. Just about everyone got dealt a fate worse than death, except of course, the one who actually got to die, and with some dignity. Yeah, Hank might be the best off out of almost anyone.
This episode was full of shocking revelations but you know what? I think out of all the episodes, this one was the most correctly predicted by people on here and on other boards. It was widely suspected that Jesse would be held as a cook slave. And that Junior would find out the truth about his dad. I always thought the moment he did he would be just as mad at Skyler for sticking with him and keeping his secrets, and that this would be thing that would get Skyler to flip sides. I wasn’t in this camp, but there were plenty of people who thought Jesse would find out about Jane. I think it was Nomad who first floated the idea that Marie would go brag to her sister that Hank had arrested Walt and that too was a popular one. The point is, a lot of predictions were spot on but it didn’t take the shock out of anything.
Maybe the most shocking thing? Todd did something a little merciful and something else a little brilliant. Jack’s boys were going to take all of Walt’s money until Todd talked to him, convincing Jack to leave Walt one barrel. Todd has a lot of respect for Walt. Without him, Todd would’ve never gotten on this path he’s on now. In a way, it’s because of Walt, and his tutelage of Todd and inclusion of him in the train heist, that Todd gets any bad guy cred and respect from his Uncle Jack. You get the feeling that before that, those guys never took him seriously. Walt was his lucky break, and Todd, out of some weird sense of loyalty or respect or gratitude, wants him to have some of his money still.
Is it me or was Todd almost just a little…gentle when he was taking Jesse up the ladder? That boy is so strange. His “Sorry for your loss” was so odd, like a robot saying a thing he’s heard before but doesn’t feel or understand. It actually made all of us watching at my place burst out laughing.
But it was Todd’s strategic thinking that was most surprising. I guess that’s what his crush on sweet blue Lydia has done for him. I believe that when he suggested torturing the details of what Jesse told the feds out of him, he was already thinking of having Jesse cook. He knows Walt never would now, and he needs to make the cook better for Lydia, to impress her. So that was some higher-level thinking on his part than we’ve ever seen before. It has to be Lydia he’s doing it for and I don’t think he wants to say that to Jack because they might lose the respect he’s recently earned from them. The others aren’t focused on cooking–they just got what, 69 million dollars and even splitting that between all of them, that’s a lot–but Todd is. But I don’t think the others mind the outcome.
Plus, you know, he gets to torture someone.
Out of all the people who could end up with Walt’s money, the Aryan Brotherhood boys would be my absolute last pick. They were the only people who had any positive outcomes from this episode, those creepy fucks. I’m looking forward to seeing them get what’s coming. More convinced than ever that they are the targets for the M60 and I want to see them get it.
“Jesus, what’s with all the greed here? It’s unattractive.”
EVERYONE LOSES WHAT THEY WANTED MOST AND MEETS A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH (EXCEPT THE ONE WHO DIES)
Hank
“Sorry man, there’s no scenario where this guy lives.”
As I discussed a little in the post for “To’hajiilee,” Hank got a fitting death. He got what he wanted most during the entire series–to put cuffs on the Great Heisenberg–and got to make that call to Marie and tell her he loves her, and then lost it all. It was a mix of triumph and tragedy and it was poignant. And he got to die with some dignity. “My name is ASAC Schrader and you can go fuck yourself.” He wouldn’t beg for his life but saw that Walt would. Walt actually offered to give up all of his millions for Hank’s life, which was a surprising turn.
Walter
Walt was seriously humbled in this episode. The one thing he worked for, at least in his own mind–his family–he lost. He had to watch Hank die, which clearly paralyzed him with grief. And then Skyler and Junior turned against him and for all intents and purposes, he lost them too. That’s Walt’s worst case scenario, the thing I think he might rather die than endure. And most of his money was taken from him too.
All empires must eventually fall, and Walt’s crumbled in this episode. Things have been spinning more and more out of control ever since Hank found him out, and it caught up with him.
Walt pleads and pleads for Hank’s life. He offers up all his money in the desert. He said, “I have money. It’s buried out here.” As soon as he said that, I knew they were going to kill Hank and take Walt’s money. Walt’s just so desperate. But in this episode, no one’s pleading gets anyone anywhere.
How perfect was the song that played as he rolled the barrel across the desert?
Take My True Love by the Handby the Limeliters
Times are gettin’ hard boys,
Money’s gettin’ scarce,
Times don’t get no better boys,
Gonna leave this place.Take my true love by her hand,
Lead her through the town,
Say goodbye to everyone,
Goodbye to everyone.Had a job a year ago,
Had a little home,
Now I’ve got no place to go,
guess I’ll have to roam.Take my true love by her hand,
Lead her through the town,
Say goodbye to everyone,
Goodbye to everyone.Every wind that blows boys,
Every wind that blows,
Carries me to some new place,
Heaven only knows.Take my true love by her hand,
Lead her through the town,
Say goodbye to everyone,
Goodbye to everyone.Times are gettin’ hard boys,
Money’s gettin’ scarce,
Times don’t get no better boys,
Gonna leave this place.Take my true love by her hand,
Lead her through the town,
Say goodbye to everyone,
Goodbye to everyone.Say goodbye to everyone,
Goodbye to everyone.
So much of those lyrics are so true for Walt. His money, relatively speaking, is a lot scarcer. He’s leaving town, about to go roam, parting with everyone he cares about. Even the part about him having a job a year ago is legit. I was struck with the line that things aren’t getting any better. Is that prophetic? It almost seems like things are about to go pretty smooth for Walt now. Things are as terrible as he could probably ever imagine, but it seems he’s made it through the worst. He’s going to escape from Albuquerque and avoid any arrest for his drug dealings and murders or any implication in Hank and Gomie’s deaths. He has $11 million dollars still. I’m struggling with words today, as I said above, and my thoughts are muddier than usual–the episode was just too good and too awful all at once and I’m sorta stuck in it–but what I’m trying to say that is that in Walt’s mind, the absolute worst has happened to him. But law-wise, he’s set up to roam free.
But I don’t think his suffering is over. With two episodes left, it seems things have to get worse. This could mean something more happening to his family, which is likely, or that Walt will go through some internal suffering and guilt, especially now that he’s without his family. Then of course, there’s also the cancer but I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing compared to the others.
It’s interesting that the writers are so clear that this is Walt’s “punishment” of sorts, that this is Walt reaping what he’s sewn. Because I don’t think Walt sees it that way, at least not at first. At first, he blamed it all on Jesse, and Jesse certainly did play a part, as did Jack, Hank, and Walt himself but I don’t think Walt was placing any of the blame for setting any of this in motion on himself. But there are little moments where you can tell that thought is at least lurking in there somewhere, the most telling of which is when he looks at himself in the mirror then turns the mirror away to the covered up graves of Hank and Gomez. This makes me wonder if Walt will in fact have some further descent into suffering that comes from his own psyche.
Jesse
Oh God. Jesse’s probably the worst off out of anyone. I don’t know if a person can be more broken than he is now. Despite all the predictions of Jesse being taken as cook slave, the actuality of it was almost unbearable to watch. And I have admitted to being a bit of an Evil Jesse Fan at times, enjoying when he’s suffering or in peril because Aaron Paul’s acting is just so raw in those circumstances, but this was almost too much for me. Jesse goes through so much in this episode–being pulled out from his ditch under Walt’s car at Walt’s command, Walt’s nod for his execution, being taken instead to be tortured for information first before being killed, and then Walt’s call for them to wait. You can see on his face that for a split second Jesse thinks Walt will spare him but instead he says, “I watched Jane die. I was there, and I watched her die. I watched her overdose and choke to death. I could’ve saved her but I didn’t.” Soul-crushing. You can see the life drop out of Jesse in that moment. Up until that point, he’s screaming, grabbing the ground, kicking, pleading for his life. But after Walt says that, Jesse collapses and stops struggling.
It just gets worse. Todd wasted no time getting the information out of him back at home. Jesse’s poor face. And he’s being kept in a dungeon, and when Todd comes back, Jesse’s pleading again, but then something even worse happens. Todd takes him up and into the lab, puts him on a dog run and says, very matter-of-fact, “Let’s cook.” I have no doubt that Jesse would rather die than be kept as a cook slave working with Todd. And it seems that Todd and the nazi crowd might know that too, since they tacked up that picture of Andrea and Brock as a visual threat for some extra motivation. So, Jesse will cook.
I wanted so badly for Jesse to live that I was happy about all the predictions that they’d take him prisoner, because that would mean he’d stay alive for a little more. I take it all back. Now I’m worried he’ll lose his humanity–he’s just so, so broken now–and I think that would in fact be worse than Jesse dying. I’m still hoping against hope for his survival, body and soul, hoping he can make that picture of Andrea and Brock something to keep him strong, as a talisman. But I think my hope may be misguided and influenced by the fact that The Shawshank Redemption was on before this episode of Breaking Bad, which got me thinking about hope, and holding onto things (Andy Dufresne holding onto music in his mind and heart) from the outside world while imprisoned. I have such overwhelming dread for Jesse. Much more than when Walt put the hit on him. Oh my Jesse. One of the powers of this show is that through the writing, the acting, the cinematography, all of it, the characters seem so alive and real.
As for losing the thing that he most wanted; I think that Jesse wanted a cleanish soul. Not that he could ever really have that, not with all the meth-cooking and drug-dealing and his murder of Gale, the death of Drew Sharpe, and all the other crimes weighing on him. But I think that’s still what he wanted going forth, why he tried to give his money to Kaylee (still hope she somehow gets taken care of but that’s probably another lost cause) and the family of Drew Sharpe, why he gave his money away, and part of why he talked to Hank. He wants to come clean, make amends. He wants to never be involved in this stuff again. And he does have a choice here. He could say no but he will cook so that nothing happens to Andrea and Brock.
Marie
Of course, the one thing Marie wants most is Hank by her side, and she will never, ever be the same after this. She crumples when she can see from Skyler’s face that Walt said something indicating Hank is dead. She probably knew it before that, when she’s sitting there saying that Hank had Walt in handcuffs.
Walter Junior a.k.a. Flynn
“Really? Really? Try to breathe?”
Jr probably wanted, more than anything, for his parents to get along and for Walt to beat the return of his cancer, for his father to be someone he can love and respect and look up to. He’s in complete shock when he learns about his dad. I actually wish we’d seen more of that scene, how Skyler told him, what exactly she said. But his reaction was so spot on, full of shock and betrayal and denial. One of the best lines was, “You’re a liar! You just admitted it! So were you lying then or are you lying now? Which lie is it?” Just pitch-perfect denial.
He doesn’t want to believe any of it, and maybe for a split second when he sees Walt he thinks it’s all a big mistake. But then Walt is telling them to go and won’t answer any questions. And then Skyler asks about Hank and thinks Walt killed him. I think that’s about the worst thing that could happen to Jr, to think his dad killed his uncle. Jr and Hank were always close. And then there’s the knife fight and he has to wrestle Walt off of Skyler and call the cops, and then his baby sister gets taken. His world is totally shattered. I really thought Skyler or Junior would get seriously injured or killed with that knife.
Skyler
“I’ll be asking myself that for the rest of my life.”
The one thing she’s been fighting for through all of this has been for her son to never find out the truth about his father. And Skyler pleads with Marie not to make her do this but as with everyone else’s pleading and begging this episode, Skyler’s gets her nowhere. Marie tells her to tell Jr the truth or she will do it herself. It also struck me that Marie making Skyler say yes she understands about turning over all the copies of the DVD was similar to Jack making Walt shake his hand after killing Hank to make sure they had an understanding. But I don’t think, with all that happened, that Skyler had time to even think about the DVDs.
Not only does Skyler have to tell her son everything, she has to deal with his wrath. “If all this is true and you knew about it, you’re as bad as him.”
And then Skyler also has to grapple with the thought that Walt killed Hank, and then with Walt taking Holly away. What an AMAZING performance Anna Gunn gave, running down the street, bloody, begging for Walt to bring back her baby and then falling on her knees. Totally heart-wrenching.
As much as Skyler wanted Walt’s secrets to stay secret, I think there’s a bit of relief for her when Marie says Walt’s been arrested. I even thought there was a flash of relief in Walt’s face when he got arrested in the previous episode. A sense of at least it’s over.
Speaking of relief, I felt a huge sense of it when Skyler finally confronted Walt, stopped taking Walt’s side. Not because of anything to do with Walt or wanting him to lose (I honestly don’t know what I want for Walter White at this point) but because it felt freeing for Skyler. Remember when she said, early this season (last summer), “I’m not your wife, I’m your hostage”? For that alone, it just felt like a big release for her.
The thing is, of all of these characters, though Skyler suffers a lot, and I do mean A LOT, in this episode, she’s the one who’s left in the best position. She doesn’t know it yet but she will, in all likelihood, get Holly back soon. She wanted Walt to get out and he’s leaving for a long, long time. So in a strange way, she got what she wanted more than anyone else did. And Walt tried to help her with that horrible phone call so she wouldn’t be implicated. She may even have her sister back (but that’s debatable, Marie’s there with her for the cops and the search for Holly but if she decides that Skyler’s silence about Walt contributed to Hank’s death, it’s over forever). Skyler’s set up to be the best off, relatively speaking, of any of the main characters. And that scares me, for her sake.
THE EXQUISITE BRILLIANCE OF THE WRITERS AND RIAN JOHNSON
The directing of this episode was, again, exquisite. SO many great shots and juxtapositions and choices. Chief among these is the way the flashback fades to the current situation. First the flashback fades to a blank, silent desert. Then title sequence. Then we hear the sounds of the gunfight, but no visuals. Then fade in, to the blank desert, still with sounds of bullets everywhere. Then fade to the present day visuals, without sound. It isn’t until Hank and his wound come into focus that we get both visuals and sound. I just thought those were some great, great choices. Very effective.
Here are some other amazing shots:
-When he has a gun to his head, Jesse stops everything, knows he’s going to die and looks up. And then there’s a shot from Jesse’s point-of-view of the perfect blue sky and a few birds.
-When Walt tells Jesse about Jane, the camera starts and ends on Walt, but during most of what Walt says, the camera’s on Jesse instead.
-Act One and Act Four both end with cars driving off across the desert. Act One ends with Jack and his boys driving off, and Act Four ends with Walt being driven off by the disappearer.
-Walt seeing his reflection in the car window.
-Walt closing the truck on his barrel to Marie closing her car door arriving at the carwash.
-Two cars beeping: Walt’s because of the bullet in the gas tank, Skyler’s because Jr won’t put on his seatbelt.
There were a LOT of callbacks to early episodes, too:
-The teaser is a given. The first lie. The old Walt, the old Jesse, the old Skyler. Bogdan has a bug up his butt. It’s funny, I actually thought some of the clothes might not match the actual first cook (I thought they’d been wearing green aprons early on) so I went back and checked and it all matches. Of course. I shouldn’t have doubted.
-The sun behind Walt as he collapses by Hank is reminiscent of the sun behind him when he was originally digging what ends up as Hank’s grave.
-Walt’s pants! The pilot opened on the iconic image of the pants falling against the blue sky, and here they are, a little over a year later, still in the To’hajiilee desert. Walt rolls his barrel right past them. If you’re having trouble finding it, look for them during the first chorus of the song. They appear with the word “hand” in “Take my true love by the hand/And lead her through the town.”
-The meth pouring at the beginning of this episode, from the flashback, was a reminder of the beginning of the previous episode from Todd’s burnt like a cake batch.
-Another Walt and Uncle Jack handshake where Walt is hesitant and disgusted, though of course, this time around, it’s so much worse it might as well not be in the same universe.
-Jr not fastening his seatbelt, like Jesse when he got into Hank’s car. Funny that Hank fastened Jesse’s seatbelt but Skyler doesn’t fasten Jr’s.
-Visual callbacks to 511 to suggest Walt is using Saul’s disappearer without explicitly stating it. Walt is waiting in the same place Jesse was, and the same car pulls up. One Chekhov’s gun has finally gone off.
-Knives were planted in a flashback teaser, just like the box cutter once was.
There are also interesting choices made in what’s not shown. We don’t see Gomie or Hank’s deaths directly. We don’t see Todd torture Jesse. Or Skyler tell Jr about Walt. Or Walt contact Saul to set up the disappearer. Sometimes not showing is more powerful, in a way that could keep you up at night. It could’ve been a lot worse.
Not much to say about color or wardrobe choices this time around because everyone’s wearing the same clothes as last time. So little time has passed. Jesse has now been wearing the same clothes for four episodes!
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVILS
This episode introduced, or reintroduced, sympathy for just about everyone, maybe because they’re all suffering so. I thought this was especially true for Marie and Walt, who both do and say things in this episode that are awful.
Walt has his “I watched Jane die” moment, which was worse than his first nod for Jesse’s death and later his nod for Jesse’s torture then death. Pure Heisenberg moment. And in that knife fight, it really seemed he might stab Skyler (accidentally or not), and then he left with the baby. But then, in the end, Walt does something that’s extremely difficult for him, you can see it on his face. And it’s self-sacrificing in a way.
The funny thing? Walt’s terrible decisions (like, oh I don’t know, telling Uncle Jack that he’s got $80 million buried out here in the desert) and kidnapping his baby (if he’s trying to escape the law, that was not a smart move), and even “I watched Jane die,” were all impulsive, emotionally-motivated actions. It’s easy to see why Walt did all these things, and felt justified in doing them, but they weren’t necessarily thought out or reasoned through. And that’s real, something we all do, and Walt has done in many cases in the past. Reactive.
It’s the thing he does at the end when he’s being deliberate and smart and manipulative and cold that most shows his humanity. That awful call to Skyler. Walt was playing a part to try to help her. He knew the cops were listening in and he knew he was about to leave town. So it didn’t matter if he admitted to a few things. The point was that he played the part of the abusive husband, threatening his terrified wife into compliance. Oh and throwing in that she didn’t actually know anything about what he’s done. That way if the authorities look at Skyler later on, and realize she did some light money laundering, she can play that she did it because Walt was threatening her and she was afraid for herself, afraid he’d decide she “needed to learn” and take the kids. I don’t know how well any of that will hold up long-term but it’s something that he tried. And it hurt him to do so. The way he was crying in between his words, especially toward the end, just pulled my heartstrings for Walt. That was his goodbye to Skyler, so cruel and yet done for her, to help her. Walter White’s parting gift to his wife. His last lies to her?
As for Marie, she was so awful rubbing it in, saying, “I for one couldn’t be happier,” about Walt’s arrest. But later, when she realized Hank was dead, Betsy Brandt did such an amazing job portraying Marie’s grief. The way her mouth contorts before she starts crying was so real that this was the one point in this torturous episode where terrible things happen to everyone that I started to cry a little. It was just so raw. I really felt for her, and I’ve never been a huge Marie or Hank fan (never hated them either though). In that moment, Marie was sympathetic.
And a similar thing is true for Skyler and Jesse. People have loved to hate Skyler for a long time, but man, when she’s in the road and bloody and thinks she’ll never see her baby again, it’s just so heartbreaking. And Jesse has been hated a lot this season for ratting out Walt but seeing him tortured and enslaved just makes you (or at least me) ache for him.
And I need to say it again, the thing that makes this show so good is that even if we have our favorites, and the characters we root for, they’re all so human. They’re all full of faults. They all make bad decisions. But they all still have redeeming qualities. I just love that everyone’s in this very real human middle ground. I still feel for all of them, and they are all suffering so, so much now.
But the most heart-wrenching, sympathetic character? Baby Holly, hands down. I sure hope nothing happens to her. Sooo adorable.
One thing bugged me though: Holly’s age. She should be about fourteen months old now, not eighteen. She should’ve been about ten months when Walt turned fifty-one. There was a bit of activity after that–train heist, the deal with Declan, Mike and the lawyer, offing the guys in prison–and then there was a three-month time jump in “Gliding Over All.” That puts Holly at thirteen months (give or take a bit) at the end of the first half of Season Five. Hardly any time has passed at all in this half. The first one seemed to encompass several days until Walt realized his book was missing, but the rest have hardly covered any time at all. So thirteen or fourteen months old. Usually nit-picky stuff like that doesn’t get to me, but I feel timeline is real important here since we are going to have to jump some significant time to catch up with the flashforward, so this bugged. But I’ll let it slide.
LOOSE ENDS THAT COULD COME INTO PLAY
-Huell and Agent Van Oster who was watching over him. Van Oster knows Hank and Gomie were up to something, though he doesn’t know what, yet. When they go missing, he’s going to be suspicious. The bigger problem is when Huell–who is terrified, who thinks Hank and Gomie were working to keep him safe from Mr. White–finds out they’re missing, he’s going to freak out even more and confessions and info will come out like diarrhea.
-Walt’s confession tape. We never saw Skyler handing over every copy. She probably didn’t have a chance, what with everything that happened. There’s still a possibility that Junior comes across it.
-Jesse’s confession tape. It’s clear that under some duress, Jesse told Todd where it was, where Hank lived. So perhaps Jack and his boys picked it up while Marie was over at the White house, but it’s also possible that they come to get it soon and run across someone there (either Marie, Skyler getting something for Marie, the whole family staying there for some reason).
-Walt will, most likely, try to get some of his barrel to Skyler and the kids somehow. Through Saul?
-Two missing DEA agents is a big deal.
-Everything the police heard in that phone call. It pretty much begs for Skyler and Marie to tell them a whole lot more.
-That lotto ticket–where is it?–with the coordinates to Hank and Gomie’s grave.
As for what happens next, it’s hard to say. So many ways it could go. I still think Walt will somehow come back and rescue Jesse, but I realize that’s probably as delusional as Walt thinking his family will just up and leave without any explanation from him (Saul warned him about this exact thing back in “Crawl Space” but Walt didn’t seem bothered by this then either), or thinking that he can tell his son he’ll answer his questions about being a huge drug kingpin later and that’ll actually be enough to get him to stop asking questions, or that “I negotiated” is a believable answer to how he got out of Hank’s handcuffs. I know it’s unlikely. I’m having a hard time with the complete disintegration of Walt and Jesse, especially with the flashback to that first cook. I mean come on, my favorite episode is “Full Measure,” with one of the ultimate acts of loyalty between these two. So it could be all wishful thinking.
Still, I’m convinced it’s a possibility. Either that or they fight to the death or something and they dropped the whole “to protect someone” idea. No way Jesse just rots in that dungeon for the rest of his life. Especially with two episodes left.
The one thing though? Everyone thinks Jesse’s dead. Even Andrea was prepped to think he might be by Walt in the last episode. The most likely person to figure out he’s alive is Lydia, since it’ll be suspicious when Todd’s cook gets that much better, and blue, so fast, and she’s no dummy. And Jesse did argue, vehemently and in front of her, for her life to be spared when Mike and Walt were ready to sign off on her death. But Lydia would be too invested in having Jesse cook to do anything to help him. So I don’t know how Walt would know to rescue him, if that does indeed happen, but I think it could. It just makes some story sense to me because it’s the relationship most fraught with drama at this point, so it just makes sense that it would give the most payoff to have the final conflict center on those two. But then again, I know I’m not being as objective as I usually try to be when predicting. Too invested. Man, I’m going to be so crushed.
Just remember though, my predictions after “To’hajiilee,” those Outcomes and Survival Odds for the shootout? Hank dies, Todd lives, Gomez dies, Jesse lives? All correct. So there’s that. Gotta feel good about something after this unrelenting descent into darkness.
Detailed predictions for the next episode are over at Season 5 Part 2 Predictions and Detective Work.
“What the hell is wrong with you? We’re a family. We’re…a family.”
~Emilia J
Next episode: Granite State
More About “Ozymandias”
- Tucker’s Hole
- Sidekick Reviews
- Insider Podcast
- AMC Talk Forums Topic for “To’hajiilee”
- Weak Interactions – The Science of Breaking Bad
- Tim Goodman – Bastard Machine Deconstruction
- If “Ozymandias” Took Place Entirely on Facebook
- Director Rian Johnson on Doing Death with Dignity and How Baby Holly Cried on Cue
More Breaking Bad Topics
- Season 5 Part 2 Predictions and Detective Work – updated frequently
- Hank’s Dilemma in All its Dimensions
- Chekhov’s Ricin
- Walter White’s Moral Demise and the People Jesse Pinkman Loves
- How Walter White Poisoned Brock and What Happened to the Ricin Cigarette
Previous Episodes
- 513 “To’hajiilee”
- 512 “Rabid Dog”
- 511 “Confessions”
- 510 “Buried”
- 509 “Blood Money”
- 508 “Gliding Over All”
- 507 “Say My Name”
- 506 “Buyout”
- 505 “Dead Freight”
- 504 “Fifty-One”
- 503 “Hazard Pay”
- 502 “Madrigal”
- 501 “Live Free or Die”
Previous Seasons
April Julia 
My guess would have been that Walt survives. The one person who should die, because of the toxicity he’s created, who almost wishes he would die – “Enough already! Let me out of here” – it wouldn’t get past me, if that’s the guy who survives. And the innocents – the Jessies, the Skylers – I think they go. That was my guess.
– ‘Breaking Bad’ Q&A: Bryan Cranston on Walter White’s Morality
Emilia, what do you thnk aout it?? Thank you!!
Hi Svetlana!
Just in case anyone else wants to read it, here’s the full article Svetlana was talking about:
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/breaking-bad-q-a-bryan-cranston-on-walter-whites-morality-20130913
There’s some really great stuff in there about Bryan Cranston’s and his thought on Walt’s morality.
I wouldn’t be totally surprised at that outcome either, if that’s what ends up happening. I think there’s definitely no guarantee that what “should” happen will. I really see it ending in a way so that Walt wins AND loses. Like he wins by getting to go free but loses his family. Or he is able to get the money to his family and they are solvent for the rest of their lives, but Walt dies or gets arrested or killed (though I really don’t see the courtroom playing a big part). Or he loses a lot but gets to decide his own death. Something like that. I just don’t see a scenario where he wins at everything and keeps the money and rides off into the sunset with his family, cancer free and able to live in complete freedom from the law. But I also don’t think he will lose in all ways either.
~EJ
I’m thinking that producing higher quality meth with the existing lab equipment/setup that Todd has may turn out to be a two-man job. This could be why they have to keep Jesse around longer.
Another possibility (though it seems implausible to me) is that when Walt instructed/trained Todd how to cook on his own, he intentionally didn’t teach him quite all the steps, including the step that produces Heisenberg’s signature blue color. Publicity about the re-emergence of the blue meth might tip off ‘on-the-lam-Walt’ that Jesse (who *does* know all the steps) must still be alive. But this seems far too convoluted. There must be another way, another reason Walt becomes motivated to return with M60-scale vengeance in mind.
I’m almost of a mind to think that Walt finds out that Jesse is still alive, and that he decides to come back to kill him AND Jack, since Jack didn’t keep his end of the bargain.
I think the ricin has to be for Lydia, though I have no idea how Walt will come up with a way to use it on her.
Hey Nomad!
Yeah, meth-cooking has always been shown to be a two-man job, and I think Todd’s just not that great at it himself, and thus Jesse will be kept alive, for now.
I’ve thought of that too, that maybe Walt comes back to kill Jesse but I see some problems with that. One of them is that if Walt comes back still full of vitriol and hatred for Jesse, wouldn’t he kind of realize that Jesse’s fate now is kinda worse than death? I have NO doubt Jesse would rather be dead than be a cook slave with Todd, and that it’s the picture of Andrea and Brock and the fear that something will happen to them that gets him cooking. Wouldn’t Walt kind of take pleasure in how horrible Jesse’s life is, and that he’s captive? He’s no threat to Walt now, and he’s getting a worse punishment than Walt can give him. So I don’t know.
BUT if Jesse escapes somehow, then yeah I think it’s very possible Walt comes back to kill him. I still hope not but that’s beside the point entirely.
~EJ
I think that all that is happening to Jesse is his “punishment” for being in the business, just like Walt must pay his price. Jesse started thinking that this is all fun and games and an easy way to make some cash while having a nice supply of meth for himself. He seemed to have little remorse for his buddy emilio, and had no problem bringing his buddies into the biz (though he was a bit reluctant to send them to competition’s turf). He now has to live with his decisions and see the ugly side of the business.
Hi Mark,
At first, I thought, wow, that doesn’t make sense, why would Jesse’s punishment for being in the meth business be being forced to make more meth? But actually there is a certain logic in that. It could also be his “punishment” for trying to come at the king. Or it could be that everyone around Walt is just worse off for being involved with him, ever since that first decision he made to break bad. I’m especially interested to see what will happen to Skyler and Jr, because relatively speaking, things aren’t so bad for them now, but that could change in an instant.
~EJ
LOOSE ENDS THAT COULD COME INTO PLAY – Huell is also the last person who talked to Hank (aside from Marie) who can provide the cops investigating Hank’s disappearance with any information about what Hank may have been up to before he went missing. Cell phone records may be able to provide the location from which Hank’s last phone call was made. And then there’s that lottery ticket with the precise coordinates… what happened to that? But maybe they don’t have enough time in the two episodes remaining to even deal with finding Hank’s body?
Of course, some of the information Huell believes – like Jesse’s death – is wrong, too. I’m sure Todd & company will be happy if Walt is implicated in all those deaths.
Good points, Nomad! And the thing is, Huell saying Jesse was killed – there’s nothing going against that, everyone will think it’s true. So that wouldn’t cast any suspicion on anything else Huell says. I really hope he gets to play a part in the last two episodes.
As for the lotto ticket, I think it’s in Walt’s pocket, right? He must’ve put it back in after he made that call to Jack? Or it’s fluttering in the desert. But I don’t think we are SURE if he put it back in his pocket or not. I’d have to go back and rewatch.
Good point, Jack and them will be all the more glad if Walt is implicated, takes any heat off of them. No one will even know about them unless Jesse’s confession tape gets out. I don’t think anyone else alive knows about them or Walt’s connection to them, except themselves and Lydia.
~EJ
re: “it’ll be suspicious when Todd’s cook gets that much better, and blue, so fast, and [Lydia is] no dummy. ”
That’s assuming that it does get drastically better so fast. And even if that happens, Todd & company should go to great lengths to keep Jesse’s captivity a secret from Lydia. Todd could just explain the improvement by telling her that Uncle Jack was “more persuasive” than she was in convincing Walt to help Todd improve his cooking skills. Lydia will almost certainly have to find out that Walt has gone on the lam (just from the publicity of the hunt for the apparent killer of two DEA agents), and one would certainly think she’d realize Jack’s crew was somehow involved in this (since she must presume they were the muscle that took out the incarcerated witnesses). Whatever suspicions Lydia may have, most likely she will keep them to herself. Todd & Jack need her distribution; she needs Todd’s production. She’s not going to make any waves that might upset that situation.
Speaking of making waves, while many have suggested that Todd’s offer to have his uncle Jack ‘smooth things over’ with her buyer was an effort by Todd to gain her favor, I see that a different way, and for this reason: How can a gang of New Mexico thugs influence a buyer in the Czech republic? Realistically, they probably can’t do that. They’d be way, way out of their turf. So I see Todd’s ‘offer’ as more of a veiled threat to Lydia, to let her know that while Todd will do his best to make the yield better, Lydia shouldn’t push too hard.
I agree that even if Lydia DOES find out, she’d have no reason to do anything about it or help Jesse in any way. The only remote possibility is that she remembers how Jesse saved her life from Mike before the train heist. But that’s extremely unlikely to move her to do anything because she needs the product to be of the higher quality Jesse’s capable of, and also she strikes me as the kind of person who will be saved by someone in one moment and try to have them killed if it serves her needs in the next.
I do think the cook will get better pretty fast though. I think they’re using the equipment that they were using before, at Vamonos, but maybe not. Did they take Declan’s equipment or just the methylamine?
BTW what happens when they cook through the rest of the methylamine? Time for Jesse to die because there’s no more cooking? Or will Lydia’s buyer require continued production necessitating another methylamine robbery?
~EJ
On one of the “The making of…” videos, one of the principles (the director or writer) stated that they are using the same equipment that was used when they cooked inside tented houses. The equipment is sitting inside metal frames and the moving cases they used are shown stashed in one corner of the warehouse. . It would be reasonable to assume that Walt would have designed a better production system than Declan’s cook, so I assume that when Walt “retired” he must have turned over the entire turnkey operation to Declan & Lydia (which is why when Lydia showed up at the carwash, Walt stated he had left her with a viable operation).
Yeah that’s what I would’ve assumed too. So with Jesse cooking, the quality and color should be up. Todd was always a worthy assistant. Thanks for that behind the scenes info!
~EJ
re: “what happens when they cook through the rest of the methylamine?”
Since the series ends before that happens, VG doesn’t have to deal with that.
But it seems clear that Lydia is valuable for her access to methylamine as well as for her distribution connections.
In the real-world, methylamine is used to make pesticides and many other products. Any criminal gang resourceful enough to ship the final product (meth) worldwide would presumably also be able to find a way to get methylamine. Wikipedia says that over one million tonnes are produced annually. I would have to think somebody like Lydia could find a way to get barrels mis-labeled as something not strictly controlled.
Right, and if enough time passes, she would no longer be under DEA suspicion as she was after Gus’s death, so she could get methylamine through Madrigal again. .
Although, of course, depending on who ends up with Jesse’s confession tape, she may be under suspicion again…
~EJ
Great piece, Emilia! I too was emotionally destroyed after seeing so many people’s lives ruined in so many different ways. I just hope that the last two episodes don’t let us down as everyone (including Vince Gilligan) keeps saying that 514 was the best episode. Either way, while I have given up on learning the back story of Gus’ connections in Chile and why/how Lydia got into the business, I am sure that the writers will satisfy us by tying up some of the other loose ends. I too think that the ricin is for Lydia, although I had toyed with the idea that it was for Walt himself. As for how Walt will treat Jesse (assuming he finds out he is still alive), I keep flip flopping as to whether Walt will reflect on all he has done once he is alone and has time to do so and will take responsibility for his role in all that went wrong with his family and also find it in his heart to forgive Jesse for his role. I think that every time he ordered or confirmed a hit on Jesse, he was being reactive and emotional so perhaps, after some reflection, he may change his mind and want to help his surrogate son, especially if he has lost his real son. But then, who knows what dark place the writers will take us next……
I also keep thinking about how Walt knows to come back (to protect someone, according to an interview with Bryan Cranston re shooting the flash forward). The one missing piece for me (although the writers may find a way to gloss over this), if he is coming back to save Jesse after figuring out that he is alive, is how Walt would ever know about the “blue” stuff with higher quality being back on the market given that he isn’t a user and presumably won’t have any other connections to the business once he has moved into his new life unless, somehow, he keeps in contact with Saul (a voluntary breach of his disappearing into a new life) or if he sees something on the news about it or about Uncle Jack and gang if someone actually catches them. Has anyone given any thought to this?
On the visual effects and colour choices, I have two additional observations:
First, the scene where Walt lies on the desert with his face on the ground and contorted with grief immediately reminded me of the flash back where Gus lies in the same position, and with a similar look of grief, beside Don Eladio’s pool after Hector Salamanca shoots Max – brilliant!
Secondly, while Maria and Skyler were still in the same outfits as last time, I found it interesting that Marie was in all black in contrast to Skyler’s pale colours. Perhaps this signifies Marie’s new tougher stance on the war against Walt, while Skyler is in a more powerless position (until, of course, the knife fight, etc., when she finally sides against Walt).
FanGirl, I thought the very same thing about Walt collapsed in desert face to face with dead Hank and Gus collapsed by the pool facing dead Max! It’s the little things like that that send my admiration for this show over the moon. It’s artistry.
Hi Ring and Fangirl,
YES! I actually had the Gus/Walt lying next to a dying loved one on my list, but was so exhausted when writing the post that at some point I stopped looking at my notes! Thanks for the reminder, I’ll go back and add that. This episode had so many great callback and allusions to older episodes. As Rings says, it’s artistry.
I keep flip flopping too about how Walt will treat Jesse or if he even comes back for him (still leaning towards he does but so unsure). Is it possible he comes back for some other reason and takes out Jack’s crew and “accidentally” saves Jesse? And then tries to kill him? Or has forgiveness in that moment?
Another idea for something that could instigate Walt’s return – what if for some reason Lydia gets arrested? She’d sing like a canary faster than those guys could murder her in prison (and do they have connections to women’s prisons anyway?) and maybe things could go public that way? But then Jack and crew would also be arrested, probably before Walt could go obliterate them witht hat M60. Ahhhhh!
~EJ
re: “Is it possible he comes back for some other reason and takes out Jack’s crew and “accidentally” saves Jesse? And then tries to kill him? Or has forgiveness in that moment? ”
I have been wondering the same thing. It would be a terrific surprise if Walt returns for some other reason (like killing Jack) only to find that they never killed Jesse.
Both VG & Cranston have stated that the finale will be polarizing, and the most polarizing ending I can think of would be if Walt does not die. That’s why I said before that the most ironic end would be if Walt ends up in prison, teaching inmate-students, still not dead from cancer, but having lost all of the family that all of his work was supposed to benefit.
I also agree that in the flashforwards, Walt sure doesn’t show any sign of urgency (which seems to rule out any form of rescue as his intention). Seems like there needs to be some other trigger for his return. It could be that if Charlie Rose airs a segment about Walt’s case, it makes him believe it is only a matter of time before he is apprehended, so he decides to return to finish some unsettled business and go out on his own terms.
BTW – you can tune in tonight to see Bryan Cranston on Letterman and Aaron Paul on Jimmy Kimmel. While we got Dean Norris’ take on 514 on the last Talking Bad, it would be amazing to hear Aaron’s and Paul’s takes tonight.
Thanks Fangirl! I missed them both (been going to bed pretty early and not a huge fan of those shows) so I’ll have to look for them on youtube or something. Yeah I’d love to hear their takes on this craziness. I hope others were able to watch the appearances!
~EJ
Don’t bother looking for the Letterman/Cranston one as it was a rerun from prior to the final eight episodes (although it was still good and BC is always highly entertaining). As for the Kimmel/Paul one, be sure to look for a video that contains coverage of the “extra security” put in place for Aaron Paul’s visit and not just his actual interview (of which there were two “bits”).
Even though I think it’s more likely that the ricin is for Lydia, I can’t let go of the thought that it may be for Walt. Somewhere deep inside Heisenberg there is still Walt, and he is now grief-stricken over the horror he has brought to everyone he loved. What if his grief and guilt grow as fast as his cancer, and he sees the ricin as a fitting and just punishment? Falling on his sword, so to speak? Irrelevant that it’s untraceable, but Walt may very well feel like he deserves to suffer for his evil and self-serving deeds.
It’s funny, Ring, that was my original thought, that Walt would take it himself with full knowledge of the suffering it will cause (still better than the much longer suffering of cancer if he’s going without treatment as it looks like may be the case – probably to avoid detection – this may not be well-known but hospitals take and keep records of DNA, though I’m not sure how/if that can be used for criminal proceedings but as a wanted man I’d think he’d be careful to avoid anything that could blow his cover), because he WANTS to suffer. I think Walt has that in him. All the times he’s said “I deserve this,” or “The consequences, they’re mine and mine alone, and they’re coming,” or ruminating on missing the perfect time to die. And I also think he has a sense of poetic justice too, like what he said about killing Gus with the ricin he made in Gus’s own lab.
But lately I’ve been thinking more Lydia. I can see almost a repeat of the diner scene in 508, when he went to get the names from her of the guys in prison and it was revealed he had the ricin with him. He might meet with her to get the information about where the compound is (she’s the only one outside of that crew who’s been there) and this time Lydia wouldn’t be able to negotiate for her life with some huge business plan because he’s not in the business. BUT that still leaves a lot of questions, like why would she agree to meet with him in the first place, knowing what she does (not only that he’s a murderer, but even less favorable in her mind, the fact that he’s wanted by the cops, which you know she will want to stay eons away from). And if she does, why in ABQ when she lives in Houston? And even, why would Walt feel the need to kill her? Just to tie up a loose end and stop the empire?
Walt and Lydia are my top contenders though, and Jesse’s still in there too but I don’t think so as much anymore.
~EJ
“The point is, a lot of predictions were spot on but it didn’t take the shock out of anything.” – Yes. I guessed Hank would die (Gomie was a gimme :) and liked the Jesse cook-slave theory, but seeing it all happen still moved me.
Thanks for pasting the lyrics! I didn’t realize they were such a perfect fit. I thought the melody was too carefree to follow what just happened, too much like “[shrug] Well, life goes on,” but in a way it fit because Walt WAS going on to try and salvage whatever he could. Plus it provided a little relief from the intensity, which was needed because it was going to get intense again and stay that way for the rest of the episode.
“It also struck me that Marie making Skyler say yes she understands about turning over all the copies of the DVD was similar to Jack making Walt shake his hand after killing Hank to make sure they had an understanding.” It’s also like when Walt told Jesse, “I need you to believe me about Mike,” and Jesse said, “Yeah, Mike’s alive…[whatever you say].”
“If all this is true and you knew about it, you’re as bad as him.” I too think Skyler will die (not that I think she SHOULD, it just feels like they’re hinting that she will) and this is one more reason, since we’re pretty sure Walt’s going to die (if not from his deeds, then from cancer).
“As much as Skyler wanted Walt’s secrets to stay secret, I think there’s a bit of relief for her when Marie says Walt’s been arrested.” Yes. It had to take a lot energy to keep up the façade and the worry was a constant distraction. Plus she must have known it was just a matter of time. For some reason, and I don’t know if the writers intended it, but this reminds me of when Walt found out about his cancer. He was in shock at first, but then he felt relief… “alive”. Then the speech he gave Hank about sleeping just fine after his diagnosis, saying, “What I came to realize is that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard as you can right in the teeth.” Will Skyler die? Will she fight and make the best of it? I don’t know.
“There are also interesting choices made in what’s not shown. We don’t see Gomie or Hank’s deaths directly. We don’t see Todd torture Jesse. Or Skyler tell Jr. about Walt. Or Walt contact Saul to set up the disappearer. Sometimes not showing is more powerful, in a way that could keep you up at night. It could’ve been a lot worse.” Agree! It was functional in that they don’t have much time left, so they need to focus on scenes that give new details, but it also felt like they gave us some credit to be able figure it out, while leaving something to our imagination. Also, while I had a good laugh at the Youtube videos of Hank and Marie watching different versions of Walt’s confession, I’m so very glad there’s no (or at least less of a) chance of seeing a spoof version of Skyler and Marie’s talk with Jr.
“That was his goodbye to Skyler, so cruel and yet done for her, to help her. Walter White’s parting gift to his wife. His last lies to her?” Wow, yes. Vince said the ep opened with Walt’s first lie to her, and this was (it seems) his last. I loved her “I’m sorry,” when she realizes what he’s doing. He gets a lot of credit for playing cruel and heartbroken simultaneously in that scene, but her performance during the call was incredible too, playing defiant, worried, angry, confused, grateful, grief-stricken,… Bravo.
“When Huell… finds out they’re missing, he’s going to freak out even more and confessions and info will come out like diarrhea.” This made me lol. Thanks, I needed that. :)
“-Everything the police heard in that phone call. It pretty much begs for Skyler and Marie to tell them a whole lot more.” Yes.
“-That lotto ticket–where is it?” Walt took it out of his wallet when he called Uncle Jack to give him the coordinates. Didn’t he put it back in?
In the ep where Walt buries the money, he offers to turn himself in. But Skyler tells him he can’t do that without turning the money in as well.
So if she lives, in order to “free” her, he’ll need to get the money back from the Aryans. He could give it to her and she could then decide whether to flee (unlikely) or stay and hand it over to the authorities. Or he could give it to the law himself in person (unlikely, because he’ll kill himself or be killed by Jesse rather than be taken into custody) or drop it somewhere and let them know where to find it.
But if Skyler dies,… noooo, he still has to get that money away from the Aryans. No way they get to enjoy it for long. Talk about a loose end! In that case, the money should go to Jesse, who would find a way to give some to the Sharpe family and Kayla, and start over with Andrea and Brock. But that might be too fairy-taleish. I really don’t think Jesse will die. He’s been painted as a victim time and again and made to suffer, implying he’s paid his debts.
You’ve mentioned a couple of times that “Full Measure” is your favorite episode. Why is that? (just curious) If you’ve already explained elsewhere in your blog, I’ll follow the link if you give one.
Thanks again, Emilia, for taking the time to log your thoughts (didn’t seem muddy to me)! Lots of good food for thought, as usual. And thanks for the “Live Chat” page – it was nice having a place to discuss the ep during the wait for your synopsis! (The AMC forum is great too, but I prefer the slower pace here.)
Hey brows! Great points as always!
I really like what you said about the handshakes being like Walt’s, “I need you to believe me.” What a great parallel.
About Skyler, I don’t know either. I always felt if she did die, it would have to be in a way that Walt felt responsible for, but maybe I’m too hung up on the idea that Walt will have regrets (because he’s shown moments of this in the past). Maybe it’s not that at all. Maybe she will go to Marie’s house to get some things for Marie b/c Marie’s going to stay at the Whites’ place during her intense grief, and she’s there at the wrong time and Jack is there looking for the tape and he kills her, and that’s just one more thing Walt would blame on Jesse (he gave up the info to the nazis).
But it also could be that Skyler’s in hiding. Maybe they put her and the kids up somewhere because they thinks he’s an abused wife tormented by her husband Heisenberg? He threatened her if she says anything, so the police/etc would think she might be in grave danger if she talks, so I could potentially see something like this.
I just can’t shake the feeling that there HAS to be more between Walt and his son. Not that htey have to interact directly but that something more has to transpire. Or he gets self-destructive and dies or something.
Glad I could make you LOL with the Huell comment. Laughter is sorely needed this week. Actually what really helped me with the emotional hangover from this episode was to watch something sad and have a really good cry. Seriously, it just gave some release. Now I’m ready for more, I hope. I’ve never been one to insist on any sort of happy endings BUT I really hope there’s at least a little bit of light in the next two. I don’t know if I can take it if they’re both as hopeless as this one.
I’m with ya, I really, really don’t want the stupid Aryan Brotherhood to end up with Walt’s money. But if he comes back so much later, who’s to say they haven’t spent a lot of it already? Weren’t there four or five guys, plus Todd? That’s $10-11 million per person (though I doubt itd be distributed evenly, Jack is clearly in charge, sitting and smoking while the others dug up the barrels).
Glad you like the Live Chats. The AMC board is so, so crazy early in the week. I have trouble with it too because so many people don’t use the reply button, esp in the days right after an episode, that the screen is just moving so fast and it crashes my browser.
re: “…But it also could be that Skyler’s in hiding. Maybe they put her and the kids up somewhere because they thinks he’s an abused wife tormented by her husband Heisenberg? He threatened her if she says anything, so the police/etc would think she might be in grave danger if she talks, so I could potentially see something like this.”
Yep. Clearly they are going to get Skyler to vacate Negro Arroyo Lane “for her own safety.” Maybe they eventually fake Skyler’s death? …and maybe Walt finds out that she’s “dead”?
“I just can’t shake the feeling that there HAS to be more between Walt and his son. Not that htey have to interact directly but that something more has to transpire. Or he gets self-destructive and dies or something. ”
Yep. It would be perfectly ironic if Jr. died in some drug-related circumstance.
“Actually what really helped me with the emotional hangover from this episode was to watch something sad and have a really good cry.” I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who cried!!! I watched it alone, so I had mine right after it was over. ;)
As for “Full Measure,” here’s the post on that episode which probably explains it best:
http://emiliajordan.com/2013/04/21/breaking-bad-episode-313-full-measure/
It’s a lot of things. I LOVE the cinematography of that episode – the scene in the laser tag place, the desert scene as Walt approaches Gus and Mike and Victor. I also like that it’s the ultimate in Jesse/Walt loyalty. In the deleted scenes, Walt tells Gus that if anything happens to him, Jesse would go to the cops and tell them everything, and that if anything happens to Jesse, that’s what he’ll do. And then of course, is the shooting of Gale, which was the ultimate loyalty Jesse could show towards Walt. I REALLY liked that aspect of their dynamic and am having trouble with them truly, finally hating each other, even if they should. And it’s so powerful to watch Jesse’s eyes in that scene – that was unlike any other shooting scene I’ve ever watched on TV or in a movie. Poor, poor Gale (who I actually really loved).
I do like that part of the episode too, getting to see more Gale, what he’s like at home, etc. Oh I gotta say it again, poor Gale.
I also liked the way it culminated their journeys of Season Three. Jesse starts out saying he’s the bad guy, and believing it, being more of a bad guy, only to realize in that episode that he’s not, that “I can’t do it, Mr. White.” And then with Walt’s life in immediate danger, he does it. I know it’s kinda twisted to LOVE that episode so much (I also really like “Box Cutter” too) but I guess I’m kinda twisted.
~EJ
Thanks for the link, Emilia! I left a comment there.
Wow, terrific analysis Emilia! I have not been able to bring myself to rewatch this episode yet. Too, too much horror! Ricin makes for a miserable, long death, which I don’t think Walter would wish upon himself. I don’t even think he would wish it on Jesse. Maybe Jack for killing Hank?
Are there any guesses as to who will paint Heisenberg on the wall at Walt’s house?
Thanks Catherine!
I found it hard to rewatch for sure. This was probably the most brutal of any episode so far, the most hopeless.
No idea who might paint Heisenberg on the wall. If Walt’s crimes do go public (really feel this will happen) it’s possible that it’s not even a character we know, but just some random person, one of the skateboarding kids or whatever. Part of the lasting legend. If everyone knows, it’s really hard to pin a guess on who would paint that on the wall.
~EJ
A lot of us thought Walt would fake his own death to help him get away. But I’m still wondering when (or if?) Walt fakes his own death?
Seems to me the heat is on him mighty hard and heavy now. Walt will be implicated in the disappearance/apparent deaths of two federal agents, and that will bring the biggest kind of heat down on him, and fast. It will be interesting to see if they show us how he makes it to New Hampshire, or if they just punt on that, and have him show up there. Maybe Saul’s guy actually drives him all the way there? That would be the easiest/safest way.
It will be difficult for Walt to fake his own death and be on the run at the same time. He needs a body that matches his description for it to be believable, and his medical treatment must have involved plenty of X-Rays that could be used to help identify a body. Also, I believe he had a large scar on his chest from the operation, didn’t he?
Yeah, I think the ship may have sailed on Walt faking his own death. He’d need help to do that, and there’s not really anyone to help him now. And it’d have to be an elaborate hoax, and it looks like he’s getting out of town in a hurry. So I don’t think he’s going to anymore. I’m still stuck on could the confession come into play, the false one? Hank’s not around to defend himself. I don’t think Skyler would stand behind it now though, no way.
Yes he would have a scar from the lobectomy and he also had a, oh what is the right term, the “spot” on his chest for guiding the radiation. I think that was how Jesse realized Walt had cancer, he saw that on Walt during a cook in Season One. Or am I hallucinating?
As for how he makes it to NH, I’m not sure we’ll see the details. This disappearer guy is clearly a professional, as described by Saul in a few previous episodes, so I don’t know if the details are super important. But it would be cool to see at least parts of it.
~EJ
Also, in retrospect, I’m coming to the conclusion that the entire exchange between Walt and Jack before Jack killed Hank is extremely implausible. They both already *knew* the reason Walt called Jack was that he had found Jesse, and wanted Jack to kill him. So that was the reason he was out there. As for why he was meeting Jesse ‘way out there,’ the answer is that Jesse agreed to meet him there, out where they first cooked, after having already baled out on Walt’s first attempt to get him to meet in downtown ABQ. Walt didn’t know that Jesse was working with Hank until after he’d already called Jack, and that’s when he told Jack to not come. Of course it was also implausible for Walt to not mention the word “cops” or “DEA” to Jack when he was on the phone.
Sorry if I’m the sole critic of all this, but it just seems to contrived to me.
When Walt got there already *knew* Jesse wasn’t actually anywhere near *those* co-ordinates, and he’d had a little time to wonder *why* he might have been lured to that location, considering that there was *no indication* anyone had already been there, much less dug up the money, when Walt arrived. Like I said before, when he saw no sign of Jesse anywhere near where he had buried his money, his *first* reaction would have been to get the hell out of there, because, no matter how upset he was at the prospect of losing his money, once he realized it still seemed to be there, he knew his presence would jeopardize it. And to top if off, the GPS co-ordinates Walt gave aren’t so precise that Kenny could just walk right to the exact spot either.
I think what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. It’s logical. But Walt was not using logic at all in either of those scenes. He was in shock and betrayal at seeing Hank with Jesse, and I also think Walt totally thought he was in charge, that “Do. Not. Come.” would be enough. But mostly, he’s not thinking. I don’t think most people, no matter how intelligent, would be thinking logically in situations like that. In fact, really smart people are sometimes the dumbest at dealing rationally with highly charged emotional situations. And the betrayal, and then watching Hank get shot and trying to plead for Hank’s life, are some of the most extreme emotions we’ve ever see WW experience.
So I buy it. But I get why you are struggling with believing it. And sometimes when something like that bothers you, you keep thinking about it. I’m still stuck on the timeline and the baby’s age being wrong! Grrr!
~EJ
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Thanks again for the weekly fix! Man, that episode was AMAZING. I watched this twice in a row adn cried both times. Possibly the best episode of any show I’ve seen ever…and that’s not even an exaggeration. The dramatic punches just kept rolling, the acting was stellar, the cinematography and shooting choices were brilliant, the song was perfect, the title was fitting, the layers and parallels and buildups and climaxes and deceptions and callbacks….all of it was, as you say, exquisite!
And I shall forever be haunted by the Gaping Mouths of Grief – Walt, Skyler, and Marie. They all had the most heartbreaking, horrified facial expressions after their sudden losses. Junior’s reaction also rang true during the revelation. Hats off to him for taking control of a crazy situation during the knife fight, which is ironic since all this time Walt and Skyler were trying so hard to protect him, but he ends up having to protect both of them. Jessie’s torture physically hurt my heart. As you said, his performance was so raw. Walt’s tears during the phone call….just wow.
Ahhhhhhhhhh can’t wait till the next one!!!
Hi Natasha!
I’m almost dreading the next one! Ahhhh!
I really like the way you phrased all of that – perfect, succinct description of what made this episode so amazing and powerful. So true about Jr being the one to protect his family. He was the one who protected his family from the man (and woman) who protect this family. His reaction was spot on. He had NO suspicion, and he had always sided with his dad in all the fights Walt had with Skyler. But it’s so Jr to act the way he did. He looked up to Hank so much, and believed in good guys and cops and DEA agents as heroes.
Yes every single actor was amazing in this grief-stricken, gut-wrenching scenes. Jesse just killed me. I think we may see him regaining some strength in the next episode. At least I hope so. I can’t take anymore hurt for him, but I’m sure there will be more. Maybe they are setting all this up so that when they kill of Jesse, it will feel like a good thing? I hope not, still rooting for him.
Basically, they should all get Emmys for that episode.
~EJ
I thought Elanor Wenrich’s acting was as good as anyone’s. Love to see her win an Emmy, but unfortunately she didn’t get enough screentime for that.
Great as always reading your insight! I totally missed that Walt “rolled” over his pants. Your explanation of Todd makes perfect sense; he’s just miming the social cues to pass as a normal person with emotions and empathy. But like you said he does respect Walt.
Great point about Skyler, this is actually a good thing for her even if she doesn’t know it yet. I still don’t know what to make of her. Does she still love Walt deep down or am I totally missing it. Her “I’m sorry” could be read in different ways I guess.
I forgot that the video “confession” is still possibly in play … wow, can’t wait to see what happens next!
Hi Sidekick, I can’t wait to see what happens either!
I think her “I’m sorry,” was to play along with what Walt was doing. He was playing the abusive husband to make it seem like anything she did was because he threatened her or threatened to take the kids. He was so specific to threaten her about talking, so as to explain her silence. And I thought Skyler’s “I’m sorry” was because she realized what he was doing and was playing the role of the scared wife afraid of her husband.
She is hard to read. I do think she must have still loved Walt to go along as much as she did, even as she hated him too. But Hank’s death seems to have crossed the line that can never be uncrossed, even though Walt did not actually kill him (but Sky doesn’t know that).
It’s interesting to think about what Todd’s parents might have been like. He was obviously raised right to some extent, all polite and well-mannered at least, which seems unlikely to have come from a relative of Jack’s. Kinda wish there would be time for some Todd backstory. I’m just curious.
~EJ
re: ‘I thought Skyler’s “I’m sorry” was because she realized what he was doing and was playing the role of the scared wife afraid of her husband. ‘
I agree. Just before Skyler says “I’m sorry” her facial expression changes (from anger to uncertainty), and then her eyes telegraph that she’s trying to figure out where Walt is going with that call, when she hears him refer to things that she knows never happened.
Exactly. Her face gives it away!
~EJ
Now that is how domestic violence should look and feel on tv, amazing, I’m in awe. Walt Jr is funny, terrific scene. And I know Walt is like the bad guy but the thought of him using the knife on his family never crossed my mind in the slightest NEVER! wow the baby in the carseat was kinda heartbreaking, kinda puts things in perspective that the show is about to end.
I don’t think Walt is going to come to Jessie aid at all it would be predictable to me, I think Huell will come into play big time in what way I dont know. Lydia is gonna find out about jesse and she is gonna be responsible for Todd and his uncles downfall, I do think Todd survves though.
If Walt comes back for revenge hes coming for the money and hes gonna give it all to his family, I think they survive. An in the end I think Walt is gonna smoke the ricin cigarette.
re: “in the end I think Walt is gonna smoke the ricin cigarette.”
The ricin is no longer in a cigarette, and besides, as far as we know, Walt doesn’t smoke.
In any case, I seriously doubt that he intends to use the ricin on himself. If Walt wanted to kill himself, he wouldn’t have to jeopardize whatever that M-60 is for by stopping by his house in broad daylight. He must need the ricin for somebody else, and my guess is Lydia. But I guess it could be for Jack. As far as Jack knows, he and Walt are “square” (they even shook on it), as long as Jack thinks Walt doesn’t know Jesse is still alive. But most likely the M-60 is for Jack (and any of his crew that happen to be around). I’m also thinking that whatever Walt’s plan that involves the M-60 is all about, it will not go smoothly. That’s the theme for the episodes this year: Walt’s best-laid plans keep falling apart, and things keep happening that he is completely unprepared for.
Hi Craig and Nomad,
It also occurred to me that the ricin might not go smoothly either. I don’t want anything too accidental–so far it’s mostly been about characters and their conflicting choices–but things can still go wrong in lots of ways.
I, too, would REALLY like to see Huell play a big role in the remaining storyline.
I’m also still thinking about Marie’s visit to the shrink. I don’t see HOW it can come into play now, but it’d be odd for them to spend so much time on it if it doesn’t somehow.
~EJ
Sure looks like the entire ‘Marie-the-would-be-poisoner’ thread was a dead end. Even if Walt returns and poisons somebody else with the ricin, there won’t be enough time for Marie to be implicated in that crime (IF she’s still alive then). So it looks like they wasted way too much valuable time for just an attempted fake-out of fans who follow this closely.
As always, nice review, Emilia. I keep reading that lot of them think that the Ricin is for Lydia. I wonder why is that? First, Lydia has not done any wrong to Walt till now. She is still in good terms with him. Why would Walt kill her? It doesn’t make sense to me. Infact, the way those neo-nazis are looking at Lydia, it seems that they are gonna kill Lydia once they no longer require her. Lydia is (I think) little worried about them (as seen in 513 – To’hajiilee). What do you think?
About the only reason I can think of that Walt might want to kill Lydia is if Jr. dies in some drug-related incident. That could make Walt finally realize how people’s lives are ruined by the type of drugs that he got rich making, and he may just be wanting to put an end to this particular production chain. Without Lydia, presumably there is no more Methylamine (as long as we want to believe that Jack’s crew couldn’t steal it as easily as Walt & Jesse originally did. Although, it sure seems like it got a lot harder to get in the space of less than a year, so much so than Declan was willing to pay millions for the Methylamine stolen from the train).
Hey Sanket and Nomad,
I’ve been wondering that too. I still think it could be for Lydia but I’ve been asking myself the same question – WHY would he feel the need to kill her? Maybe he’ll just want to tie up ALL loose ends? Or maybe it’s just not for her. I did have a dream the other night that I was watching a scene on the show, kinda blue like the scene where Walt is talking to Jr by the pool, but it was in Lydia’s house and she was making tea and in the dream I thought, “OMG the ricin is for her.” Of course, it doesn’t really mean anything and probably isn’t true. The only real scenario I could see is Walt truly wanting to get rid of any loose ends.
~EJ
I don’t know but loose ends seems to me like it can be endless. Looking at the present scenario, not many have left except Neo-nazis. If you look, loose ends can also be those Czech guys also. We don’t know who Lydia might have told about her Meth cooks. Its difficult to say what condition Jesse would be in if he is alive to that point. If he somehow gets away from Todd and guys, do you think he would be in that mental and physical state to take revenge with Walt. I don’t think so. He is completely broken now. The only think which is still possible is that Walt still wants to kill Jesse, in that case, he might use Ricin on him, if Jesse somehow gets away from Todd and guys. What do you think?
I’ve just re-watched the episodes where Mike first started to kill Lydia at her home, and then later when Mike/Walt/Jesse had her chained to a table. Mike is the one who was pushing to kill Lydia, first because she tried to have him killed, and later because he suspected her of attaching a tracking device to the barrel Jesse went to pick up. The first case was a reasonable response, but the latter was not (of course by then he already had a grudge against her; so much so that he was willing to ‘pause things’ for a while – even though that would have also meant he’d be unable to keep paying off his guys). In S5E8, Walt meets Lydia to get the list of Mike’s guys. Walt brought the ricin with him to this meeting. I guess Lydia best explains best why she thinks Walt might want to kill her, and it’s the same reason as for getting rid of Mike’s guys (except that they are a lot more likely to talk to the cops). But the risk that Lydia posed to Walt then (that she’d snitch) no longer exists Walt
That said, Lydia did say, “We’re gonna make a lot of money together.”
And we know what that has meant in the past.
Who else besides Tuco said that and is dead now?
I guess it would be fair to say that Gus essentially told Walt the same thing, just more specifically.
Jack said it too, and we can be pretty sure he’s going to die.
Looked like Jesse was not even given the protective gear to wear for a cook, while Todd was all suited up.
Hi JtR – Yeah, I noticed that too. Might be hard to dress him in a cook suit given his current chained condition. Will Todd at least give him a mask? They do need to keep him alive for now.
~EJ
Jessica Hecht (Gretchen) revealed that Gretchen will make an appearance in the last episode. Perhaps the ricin is for her? Grey Matter is a loose end that I hope they address before the end.
There have been teasers about other characters showing up (mostly on IMDB, if you believe that site), including some who are already dead – Mike, Gus, etc. The only way this could happen is in a flash back if Walt is having guilty thoughts or in a dream sequence. As such, at this point, I don’t think we can put much stock in any info about who will make an appearance. As the writers have shown us time and time again, whatever we predict, often the “reverse opposite”, to quote our favourite little meth dealer, will occur. Only time will tell and it is killing me to have to wait!
Hey Fangirl – I was kinda disappointed when those characters didn’t show up in some way in this episode (which is what they were listed for on IMDB) – was kinda looking forward to them coming back somehow, in flashbacks, and to see what effect that would have on the current situation for the characters.
But I think Gretchen is coming back for real. Here’s the NY Times article that addresses it. Most of the article is about other projects Jessica Hecht is working on, but the beginning of the article talks about her return to BrBa:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/theater/jessica-hecht-on-the-assembled-parties.html?_r=0
~EJ
Hi Catherine,
With Gretchen coming back, it seems they’ll address Gray Matter in some way. Man, I kinda hope the ricin’s not for her – had not even thought of that – even though I don’t like her or Elliot much. Just seems like they are fairly innocent in all this, at least in terms of being involved with drugs and murder. I am looking forward to seeing what happens with her and how she comes back (and whether Elliot will be with her).
~EJ
I just saw this tweet, and if true, OH JOY!!!
petergould @petergould
I checked & it’s official. Last 2 #BreakingBad eps are 75 minutes each w/commercials. Set your DVRS accordingly. Better still, watch live!
6:50 PM – 18 Sep 2013
YES! They mentioned it on one of the earlier podcasts too, that the last two episodes ran a little long and AMC let them have the extra time. So psyched!
~EJ
Let’s just hope it’s not like some other shows, where the extra 15 minutes includes about 10 minutes of commercials! That happens routinely on season finales on FX.
I don’t think that will be the case as I read somewhere that the writers went over a bit and thought they would have to cut out some stuff, but AMC fortunately let them run with the extra time.
Yeah, that’s what I heard in one of the podcasts too, that they had extra material for both episodes.
~EJ
…hopefully more than 5 minutes of extra material. What FX usually does in their “75 minute” finale episodes is include an extended promo for an upcoming movie.
If these two episodes just have extended previews for Low Winter Sun…there may be riots. All’s I’m sayin’.
~EJ
“You’re goddamn right!!” Of course, AMC have no other option then to let them have that extra time.
Of course upon waking up this morning my first thoughts were about Breaking Bad. I was thinking more with my heart than my not very sharp brain, and it seemed to me that Walt and Jesse have been inverted images of each other through the development of their characters. Walt started as a middle-age guy whose”best” life was behind him. Jesse was just starting out, but we could see nothing good in his future. Walt’s job was to teach kids, Jesse’s was destructive to kids. Walt was brilliant and Jesse was a stoner idiot. But through the series Jesse has been heading towards redemption while Walt is passing beyond it. Jesse’s become smarter, a problem-solver who can read people and situations. Walt has lost any sense of that (as Hank reminds him just before he’s shot). Walt’s now gotten sloppy and only luck saved him from being arrested. Jesse’s love of children and the innocence that’s only possible in childhood has grown and becomes the impetus to turn on Walt. Meanwhile Walt breaks bad enough to use a child in a cold and calculating way that eventually becomes the beginning of his downfall.
As Walt falls down the morality hole and Jesse tries to climb out, I can’t help but think that, in a strangely beautiful (and ugly) way, Walt’s been Jesse redeemer from the dead-end, short life Jesse would have had otherwise. And because of that, I’d like to see a final scene between them in the last few minutes of the finale where this gets acknowledged. And then Jesse gets in the red van headed for Alaska.
Catherine – Good points!
I second that. Great thoughts. I would love to see something like that happen.
What if Walt takes out Jack and his boys, is trying to find everything he can to take from there, looking for his barrels or the money they’re making off his meth empire, and then comes across Jesse in his dungeon by accident and is totally shocked to see him alive, and then lets him go? Wishful thinking again, I know!
Anyway, I just really like what you said, Catherine. And I also wake up with BrBa on the brain pretty much every day now. I even dreamt about it again last night, this time dreaming that I watched the next episode and that whole conversation with Saul that you hear in the preview was never in it.
~EJ
That ending flies right with me, Emilia. Walt gets what he went in for, kills Jack and company, even finds the money, and finds Jesse to set him free. But for Walt to free Jesse I feel that Walt must be dying as it happens. Shot by Jack’s guy? And if Walt gets his money, he also has to lose his family, maybe they’ve been killed by Jack.
I really really want to see Jesse walk away into a better life. But as far as Walt goes, I don’t think I have any hopes. I just want to find out what happens to him.
Like we can predict anything anymore….
Yep. Walt could come back both for revenge and because of a perceived threat to his family (though not an imminent threat) without knowing Jesse is still alive.
As I posted in the “Breaking Bad Season 5 Part 2 Predictions” thread, I think that at least one more of Walt’s family members must die in order for Walt to feel compelled to do this.
But that probably won’t be the only reason.
Walt was willing to give up EVERYthing he had worked for to save Hank (and from what he told Skyler, we know how important it was to him that she and the kids benefited from that). But starting with Hank & Jesse’s fakeout, and everything else so far, Walt has really lost control over what was happening, and Hank’s death in front of him brutally drove that point home.
So in a way, I see Walt’s return with the M-60 as partly being an effort to re-assert control, in addition to righting the wrongs he must feel that Jack has inflicted.
The most obvious family member to die next would be Marie, killed by Jack’s crew as they search for Jesse’s confession video. But somehow I think we also need a death even closer to Walt, and the most likely victim that fits that bill is Jr. So I can’t decide if both will die.
Also, something has to happen to make Walt take so long to decide to do this. If Jack’s crew kills Marie, I would think that would be too soon, unless Walt somehow takes months to find out about it. That’s why I’m thinking that something happens (or maybe almost happens) to Jr. months later.
To clarify what I mean by “something happens (or maybe almost happens) to Jr. months later.”
It’s almost like when I previously thought that Todd would need to be wounded in order for them to have a good reason to take Jesse with them, but as it turned out Todd came up with an even better reason… even though it’s clear now that interrogating Jesse wasn’t the only reason.
So I still think it would be an appropriate irony if in the intervening time before Walt returns, that something related to Walt’s signature ‘Blue Meth’ happens to Jr., and of course the most obvious thing would be for him to get hooked on it. Except for his disability, Jr. had it pretty good, but Skyler & Jr. are about to start living in near-poverty, and on top of finding out that his dad was a drug kingpin, that daily grind of poverty (including not being able to afford to go to college) might be enough to make Jr. break bad himself.
I just don’t know if I can see Jr doing drugs – drinking yes, pot maybe, meth…? – he’s always been in support of the “good guys” and cops, and so looked up to his DEA agent uncle. But I guess it could be possible, you bring up good points about what his life will be like now. And he will also be confused about his father, who is now gone. Maybe he might even try blue meth (which should be back on the streets soon) as a (subconscious) way of trying to connect with Walt and also self-destruct.
No matter what happens, those poor kids are never going to have a normal life. I still think we could get to a “Daddy’s a drug dealer and Mommy turned him in” type situation.
~EJ
That’s a good thought. Maybe Jr spirals out of control or something. A lot have been saying he’ll turn to drugs but I don’t know how realistic that is given his reaction to Walt as drug-dealer. It could happen but it could also be something else. Maybe he just goes down a bad path, starts drinking a lot and being reckless or something. That would be one way that something eventually happens to Jr (he could eventually get in a horrible wreck, do something totally self-destructive, etc) and that could take time to develop.
I do hope that if WW finds Jess alive (I now have this image of him walking around, looking for stuff to take, and coming across the top of that little dungeon). I hope if he does, he’ll let Jesse live, because that would just be unspeakably brutal to have Jesse just tortured and enslaved for months and then murdered. I wouldn’t wish that on ANY character.
I agree though that something more has to happen to Walt’s family, and I think it has to be to Sky or Jr. Something may or may not happen to Marie but I feel the impact on Walt would not be THAT much different than Hank’s death. Hank and Marie are at the same level, in a way. So whether she dies or not, I think someone in his immediate family has to. I hope it’s not Jr or Holly but I wouldn’t be terribly surprised.
Sky is a wild card of sorts. I could see sth happening to her but I just don’t know if she’ll die or not.
~EJ
I guess the most plausible way for more members of Walt’s family would simply be for them to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would save them a lot of time (of which they have so little left) compared to trying to depict how Jr. goes from where he is now to dying from a drug overdose. The more I think about it, the more I think they don’t really have enough time left to do that.
We also can be pretty sure that Skyler isn’t killed by Jack’s crew at the Schrader house because IIRC didn’t they put out some stills that show them living in an apartment months later?
Also, Jack’s crew sure had plenty of time to get there that same day. Knowing that Hank was dead, ans assuming that Jesse fessed up pretty quickly, all they had to do was watch the Schrader house until they saw Marie leave, which she did about three hours after Hank’s phone call. Jack’s crew could have been at the Schrader house by then, or if not, certainly by that night when Marie was with her sister. I can’t see why they’d have to be there more than a few minutes, especially since their risk goes up the longer they stay. I’d bet they’ll not only find Jesse’s video, but Walt’s video too. That’s how I think Walt’s video will be made public, which is why I think there’d be a good reason for Charlie Rose to do a segment about it.
Ooh good call on Jack’s boys finding Walt’s video and making it public. The debate would be on, was it Walt or Hank? And that disgrace to Hank’s name on top of dealing with his death could make Marie go crazy. Crazy enough to poison??
~EJ
re: “crazy enough to poison?”
I, for one, am going to be real P-O’d if they wasted so much time on Marie fessing up to her therapist about her poisoning inclinations for that to be a complete dead end. But at this point, WHO would be the target of Marie’s anger? Hard to see her trying to poison Skyler, even if she does blame Skyler for participation in Walt’s video. After all, Walt’s phone call not only gave Skyler a reasonably effective excuse for the cops, but also for Marie.
excellent points, Catherine. I am also obsessed, and am having trouble focusing on much else but BrBa. It’s in my brain, being considered and evaluated from all angles. Thanks to my crossword puzzle mind-set, I even found myself pondering an alternative meaning to “Granite State”….what if it’s not (at least not only) NH, but has something to do with the organic composition, the chemistry of granite? Here’s a line from Wikipedia that could easily be applied to Walt:
“Granite is nearly always massive (lacking internal structures), hard and tough…..”
Walt has definitely lost whatever internal moral compass or structure he used to have, and the uber-tough Heisenberg persona is about all he’s got left.
Vince Gilligan, you evil genius! No show has EVER captured my imagination like this one. Beyond well done …. a virtuoso performance from beginning to end. Cast and crew doing cutting-edge work. Bravo, and thank you.
Ring, your comments about granite composition remind me of something posted on the AMC forum about the title of the last episode. Felina–Fe is iron, blood; Li is lithium, an ingredient in methylamine; and Na is sodium, as in tears. Blood, meth and tears. Sure sounds like the right theme.
I don’t knock anyone else’s predictions…here’s mine. (Can’t say which episode).
Skyler and Marie (maybe Jr. too) get slayed by Jack’s crew. Dead families tell no tales.
Cranston’s spoiler means Walt returns to save Jesse. The timing several months later is because they are running out of methylamine and Jesse has figured out he’s going to get killed when it’s gone. Walt stays in touch with Saul to find out what’s going on and either Lydia or Jesse is going to get word to Walt. Jesse’s the only family Walt has left really. Can’t say where Holly will be (with Gretchen?) but Walt can’t be with her. Walt will set up a meeting somewhere where he hopes to set up his gun and wipe them all out. Naturally anything that can go wrong will. Ricin is for Walt to consume if he gets captured.
Wait wait wait – Cranston’s spoiler???
Coming back to protect…well I view it as save…he’s not bringing the M60 to babysit someone.
Ahhh gotcha! He said that so long ago (last summer) that I do sometimes wonder if they’ve changed their minds. I hope not. I want Walt to protect someone.
Do you ever have to remind yourself these characters aren’t real? I do lately.
~EJ
A rare treat for TV, that. Last time for me was The Sopranos. The final episode was analyzed like we’re doing now. Got me looking for clues. “NZ45B8” on a car full of nazis? Well I think they’re M60 bait anyway.
Loki, that’s a great point, that if Walt’s family is killed, Jesse’s the only family he has left. Another reason to save Jesse. But if Skyler is at Marie’s when Jack shows up, she would have Holly with her. Maybe Jack’s gang takes her as insurance to get Walt back in the game? Who knows….
Right, Holly would be there. I don’t think Jack would hurt a baby after wiping out everyone else. It’s unattractive.
With Walt having said he had a few more things to do, it seems implausible that they’d all just go over to Marie’s house, at least not without an armed security detail (which costs a lot more than a hotel room). Seems likely that the cops will “strongly suggest” that they all leave Skyler’s house though. Jack’s crew *should* have been able to complete their ransacking of Marie’s house while Marie was at Skyler’s house that night, unless Jesse hung tough longer than it seemed. Seems unlikely that Skyler would stop by Marie’s house to get something, not when Marie is the one who lives there and knows where everything is. So if anybody is going to stop by Marie’s house at exactly the wrong time, I’d have to think it would be Marie. It’s conceivable that Marie could be instructed to not go back there, but while on her way to a safer location, she decides on her own to stop by her house anyway… setting the stage for a tragic encounter with Jack’s crew.
Less than 48 hours left now.
I wish we could all be in the same room to watch tomorrow night.
Me too!
~EJ
Anna Gunn says the script for the next episode brought the cast to their knees.
See 30 minute point-
I posted a link to a Youtube video and was surprised to see the box posted instead. Look for video entitled Anna Gunn from “Breaking Bad.”
In that video, Anna wasn’t exactly sure which episode it was, so I think she must have been talking about last week’s episode.
After watching that I had to watch 51 again, and so glad I did. The whole scene by the pool when Walt is talking about how that night in the bathroom, he just wanted it all to be over, and the tiles were so cool and inviting….as he’s speaking, Skyler is walking into the pool, where she’s cool and weightless and all the noise goes away…….exquisite parallels. Two and a half hours to showtime………
Ooooh, great observation!
Can’t wait…
~EJ
Just a little comment. Those birds circling overhead at the end of the shoot out are vultures… no need to say more